Happy 30th Anniversary to Black Box’s debut album Dreamland, originally released May 8, 1990.
The end of the ‘80s and the beginning of the ‘90s was a magical time for many things. The Simpsons made their debut. Nintendo’s Game Boy was released. Mononyms like Linda, Naomi, Cindy and Christy became our new age heroines. And of course, the love of all things house music.
Although house music got its start in the early ‘80s, hot off the heels of disco’s waning popularity, it wasn’t until the tail end of the decade and more importantly, the dawn of the ‘90s that house music took its rightful place at the top of the charts. Not to mention that there wasn’t a club or dance floor filled to the brim with smiley faced t-shirts, underwear as outerwear and chunky platforms, busting a groove to fresh sounds and voices courtesy of Deee-Lite, C+C Music Factory, Cathy Dennis and Snap!, among others.
House music, it seemed, had taken over everyone’s ears. One group in particular that soared straight to the top of the charts with their debut album Dreamland was Italian house music trio Black Box. The band, which consisted of DJ Daniele Davoli, Keyboarder Mirko Limoni and Clarinet maestro Valerio Semplici, started their chart domination with the acid house groove “Numero Uno” under the moniker Starlight (also sometimes known as Groove Melody) which peaked at #9 on the UK charts in 1988. Two more singles followed, achieving minimal chart success, but that all changed with a single that was released in July of 1989: “Ride On Time.”
“Ride On Time” was the lead single from Dreamland and essentially put Black Box on the proverbial musical map and in every club globally. Sadly though, there is a back story to this song and album. A story that is very well known, which would not only go on to fuel controversy for the band and tarnish its name, but it also became part of the catalyst for federal legislation that made vocal credit mandatory for all albums and music videos.
In a nutshell, “Ride On Time” used a sample from “Love Sensation,” the ‘80s club classic made famous by Disco/Gospel legend Loleatta Holloway and as there was no “green light,” logically the copyright owners (Dan Hartman) took legal action and the single was allegedly re-recorded by Heather Small of M People fame. But the fun doesn’t stop there.
A face was needed to front the single and a young French/Guadelopean model by the name of Katrin Quinol fit the part perfectly. Discovered in a club one night and asked to be a “stage performer” for the band, Quinol thought that this would be a job like any other. The problem was that she was lip-syncing others’ vocals and given the band’s recent foray into legal action over the unauthorized use of vocals, one would have thought that their lesson had well and truly been learnt.
It wasn’t. Enter yet another music legend, former Weather Girls frontwoman, the incomparable Martha Wash.
Wash, who was originally asked by the group to record some demos for the impending and now infamous Dreamland album, laid down a total of six of the album’s nine tracks. The problem was a) they weren’t only used as demos, and b) Wash wasn’t (at the time) credited for her work. Sigh. You couldn’t make this stuff up if it wasn’t already true.
Wash caught wind after Holloway and Hartman’s successful litigation and followed suit, eventually becoming the aforementioned “catalyst” for the legislation on mandatory vocal crediting. Double-edged sword here, but without all the drama surrounding Dreamland, we wouldn’t have the much-needed protection for singers and for that, we must give a massive shout out and thanks to the late Loleatta Holloway and the ever-inspiring Martha Wash.
Back to the music. Dreamland is actually an incredible album. After “Ride On Time” dominated the charts, the band released a further six singles which were all sung by Wash. Yes, this album really is about Wash and let’s be honest, if it wasn’t for her gospel tinged, rich powerhouse vocals, this album wouldn’t have been the success that it was.
But on the other hand, for the time, Quinol’s presence, although wrong on so many levels, also seemed to be so right. Whether it was a yellow clad Quinol dancing through fields of flowers in “Everybody Everybody” or the pure house modernity of “Strike It Up” as she danced in black lycra with braids down to her waist, her blackness and beauty became the focal point of a much needed conversation surrounding beauty and its many varied colors.
Other singles like “I Don’t Know Anybody Else” and “Open Your Eyes” continued the disco house vibe, but it was the cover of Earth, Wind & Fire’s “Fantasy,” again sung to perfection by Wash, that put the band into a different lane. Doing the original version immense justice, a blue-eyed contact wearing Quinol stared down the lens, mouthing the song’s words and yet again, we were all mesmerized. Black Box, for all their house music hits, is essentially soul music, as epitomized in full force by “Fantasy.” It is a well-known fact that house music’s thumping beats, drum machines, pianos and powerhouse voices all draw on influences indebted to disco, gospel, R&B et al.
Controversy aside, it’s a shame that the band didn’t work with Wash in a more transparent, cohesive and creative way, as they most definitely would have gone on to make even more club smashes. Black Box were one of the groups that helped usher in the ‘90s and lay some serious foundations where the expansion of house music was concerned.
Yes, it is all too often difficult to separate the artist from controversy, but it is equally as hard to ignore good music when it is made. For all of Dreamland’s subsequent woes, the album did manage to bring many a dance floor to full capacity and provided the soundtrack to many a ‘90s club kid’s life. Mine included.
Note: As an Amazon affiliate partner, Albumism may earn commissions from purchases of products featured on our site.
LISTEN: